The Lecture will be delivered by Kostis Gkotsinas, Associate Researcher at the Institute for Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation, and will take place on Wednesday, March 18, (19:30), at the Institute for Mediterranean Studies of FORTH, 130 Nikiforou Foka and Melissinou, in the old down, Rethymnon.

Since the late 19th century, the hashish trade flourished across the Eastern Mediterranean. During this period, the Kingdom of Greece emerged as a primary production hub, while Egypt (where the cultivation, importation, and consumption of the substance were strictly prohibited) served as the principal destination. At the turn of the 20th century, the production, trade, and use of Indian hemp and other psychoactive substances were subjected to increasingly stringent national and international regulations under the auspices of the League of Nations. Consequently, smuggling patterns underwent a significant diversification: trafficking shifted toward new substances, such as heroin and cocaine, and adopted more complex organizational structures through the emergence of illicit networks with local, regional, and international reach.

This presentation traces the pathways of illicit trafficking by focusing on the circulation of individuals (smugglers), products (illicit substances), and information (regarding both trafficking operations and their suppression). In doing so, it highlights the central trends and transformations that defined the illicit drug economy in the region during the first half of the 20th century.

The Lecture is also available here